This paper examines the growth and challenges of digital payment adoption by retailers in Africa, including “contactless payment (QR codes, tap to pay) [and] buy-now-pay-later” services. The authors note four main prerequisites for merchant adoption:
Tag: Digital Finance
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Digital Finance Campaign Replication Guide,” Published by USAID
This paper describes a digital finance education campaign called “Hey Sister! Show Me the Mobile Money,” including efforts to make it easy to replicate from one geographical context to another. The program facilitates low-income women’s access to digital financial services (DFS) by addressing the challenges of
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Banking in Layers: Five Cases to Illustrate How the Market Structure for Financial Services is Evolving;” by Aiaze Mitha, Faith Biegon, Peter Zetterli; Published by CGAP
This paper cites several financial service providers (FSPs) in emerging markets in exploring how recent advancements in digital technology have enabled new business models, transforming the market for financial services. The authors argue that these FSPs have deconstructed the financial services market into separate modules, allowing these modules to be reassembled in innovative ways. These modules include:
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Silatech, Gojo Partner to Provide Digital Finance to Youth-led Enterprises in Cambodia, India, Sri Lanka
The Qatar-based social enterprise Silatech recently launched a three-year partnership with the Japanese microfinance investor Gojo & Company with the aim of supporting 90,000 youth in Cambodia, India and Sri Lanka with digital financial services to facilitate the founding and expansion of micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). Among the strategies of the partnership is
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Lender KixiCrédito to Boost E-services in Angola with Support from IFC
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, recently announced a partnership with KixiCrédito, an Angolan microcredit company, to strengthen KixiCrédito’s “delivery of digital financial services to individuals and micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) across the country.” The plan includes
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Innovating Digital Financial Services for Posts,” Published by Universal Postal Union
Of the 5.4 billion adults worldwide, 1.5 billion access financial services through post offices. Postal services have large networks of branch locations that give them the potential to reach even more underserved populations. The extent of these branch networks is so wide because
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FINCA DRC, Flash International Partner to Expand Mobile Access to Financial Services in Congo
FINCA Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a subsidiary of US-based FINCA Impact Finance, recently announced a partnership with Flash International, a DRC-based financial technology (fintech) company. FINCA customers will gain access to Flash App, Flash International’s mobile financial services platform, while Flash customers will
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Kushki Raises $86m in Equity to Grow Fintech Services for Retailers in Latin America
Kushki, a digital payment processor that is active in Latin America, recently raised USD 86 million in its Series B funding round. The investors – not all of which have been named – include Spain-based Conexo Ventures, Mexico-based Dila Capital,
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFC Commits $1b to MSMEs in Africa Recovering from Pandemic Recession via Risk Sharing, Mezzanine Financing
The International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, recently committed USD 1 billion to finance micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) through risk sharing and mezzanine financing in collaboration with public and private financial institutions. The loan will target MSMEs in sectors considered more likely to create jobs, given the
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Belize Bank, Wallet Factory to Launch Digital Payment Service E-kyash
Wallet Factory, a financial technology company based in the UK, recently partnered with Belize Bank Limited, a commercial bank in Belize, to create E-kyash, a digital payment platform aiming to ease financial transactions for people without bank accounts. E-kyash’s offerings include utility bill payments, retail payments via
SPECIAL REPORT: “Conference Report: European Microfinance Week 2018,” published by European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP)
This is a summary of a report presented by Laura Hemrika and Christoph Pausch; published by the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP); March 2019; 92 pages available at:
http://www.european-microfinance-week.eu/_dbfiles/lacentrale_files/1000/1085/e-MFPrapport-2018-web.pdf
European Microfinance Week 2018 featured 450 attendees from 69 countries discussing a wide range of topics, focusing on “digital inclusive finance.” This included how to expand and improve
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP UP: “Building Resilience Through Financial Inclusion: A Review of Existing Evidence and Knowledge Gaps,” published by Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA)
This is a summary of a paper by Danielle Moore, Zahra Niazi, Rebecca Rouse and Berber Kramer; published by Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA); January 2019; 16 pages; available at
https://www.poverty-action.org/sites/default/files/publications/Building-Resilience-Through-Financial-Inclusion-January-2019.pdf
Lower household incomes are linked with lower levels of resilience from financial setbacks. The authors suggest that access to savings and other forms of financial inclusion can
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP UP: “Ten Key Principles of Digital Finance;” published by Proxfin, Développement international Desjardins (DiD)
This is a summary of a paper published by Développement international Desjardins’ (DiD’s) Proxfin, October 2018, 2 pages, available at:
https://www.did.qc.ca/media/documents/en/autres-publications/10_key_principles.pdf
This document addresses best practices for microfinance institutions transforming their services from analog to digital format. The authors describe digital transformation as being more about business than technology. Rather than being tempted by “passing trends,” planners should focus on consumers’ ease of use. The authors argue customers should be able to expect a customized “end-to-end” experience consisting of “a straightforward, engaging, value-added process that makes use of
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Mondato Summit Africa 2019; April 9, 2019; Johannesburg, South Africa
The 2019 Mondato Summit Africa, which will be held at Summer Place in Johannesburg, is themed “Scaling Digital Finance & Commerce (DFC) Innovations in Sub-Saharan Africa.” Discussions are slated to cover the evolution of the digital economy, the transformation of telecommunication companies, investment opportunities and policy considerations.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Financial Inclusion Global Initiative (FIGI) Symposium; January 22 – 24, 2019; Cairo, Egypt
Session titles at the 2019 Financial Inclusion Global Initiative (FIGI) Symposium include: Data Privacy in Digital Finance, Policy Considerations Relevant to Digital ID in Finance, and Data Analysis to Understand the Reach of Digital Financial Services. Speakers will also address